A Shade of Lavender
by FreedomFighter007
Summary: My first story. A story of love and angst and humor. A serious Shadaze. Possible smaller couples but nothing much I'm going to go with a T rating to be safe. Enjoy! Alright, so I've been gone for like half a year, but I think I'm gonna write again.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: A First Glance**

**I am really excited! This is my first story so don't expect straight up greatness. This chapter basically shows when Shadow and Blaze first meet and their feeling after words. I appreciate any kind of criticism and sooner or later I might add an original character or old enemy later. I know it is a little short, but the later chapters will get longer. Enjoy!**

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Shadow was walking down the street when he first noticed her. She had something about her, like she couldn't trust anybody. She was fierce and alert, but didn't even look at him. He just kept walking, but kept his guard up. " No need to get involved or even care, probably got dumped by her boyfriend." he thought to himself. Then, almost expected, she lunged at him. He turned around and caught her. " What the hell is your problem?" he yelled at the cat. She was stunned. She seemed confused and amazed that he was able to retaliate as quick as he did. "Well?" "I'm sorry-" "Hey Shadow!" He turned and saw Sonic. Sonic was his rival, friend, teammate, well, he was a lot of things. "See you have met Shadow, Blaze." "You know this cat?" "Yeah, in fact, she is staying with us." Shadow dropped the cat and walked away. "Whatever." he said , walking away into the night.

He decided at that point to return to his(Rouge's) apartment and he skated away. Once he arrived he was immediately greeted by Rouge's voice. " Where were you, you were out later than usual." " I ran into Sonic and some cat-" "Blaze?" "Uh… Yeah." " Please try to pay her a little bit attention, she has had a hard past couple of weeks." But when she looked up he was gone. Shadow would treat her like everyone else, another person. She would probably go home in a couple days anyways.

**The Next Day…**

Blaze woke up to the bright sun and a familiar voice, it was Tails. " Come on Blaze, you gotta get up. She was a little upset and confused with herself. She wasn't the kind to run away or attack a random person! She just didn't understand why she had to leave her kingdom. She decided she should probably just ask questions later. She walked into the living room's apartment. "Good morning Blaze! Did ya sleep all right?" "Yeah, I think I'm going to go on a walk." she said and walked out the door. She needed a little peace and quiet. Along the way, all she could think about was that black and red hedgehog. He seemed to know Sonic. She then decided to turn around and head back to the apartment. She wondered if she will ever get to see him again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: A Party**

**At this point we know pretty much nothing about the relationship, but it has a beginning. Blaze doesn't seem to know anything about Shadow, and Shadow doesn't seem to care about Blaze. So let's continue.**

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Blaze doesn't see why everyone is so excited about this party or even having it. Just because is part of the "family" now doesn't mean she needs to be treated as a baby. She doesn't need gifts or even a welcome party. Rouge came over to meet with Amy and her to discuss the party.

" This is going to be the absolute best!" yelled Amy when Rouge arrived.

"I know! We are going to stop at no limit to make this great." said Rouge.

Blaze tried to say something, but before she knew it she was being dragged to the mall. This was going to be a long day. Blaze was into purple and when she let that information out, she was dragged off again. They went to about every store searching for anything purple. At least they let her pick things and have a voice in how the party should go. Her favorite part was the atmosphere of the mall. It was filled with the smells of the food court, the rush of people, and the sounds of checkout counters.

" Blaze come on!" Amy said bringing her out of her daydreaming.

" We are taking forever anyways. It's not like we only have a couple more minutes."

They finally found a decent looking dress and a couple of decorations and decided to return home.

Once she was at home she had to get ready, being the party is in 4 hours. She really didn't want to do this, but it was too late now. She put on her makeup, got dressed, the whole ordeal. When she walked down the stairs everyone was already here and talking and enjoying themselves.

Except for Shadow, but was that really a surprise?

She decided to talk to Cream. Cream seemed nice, but quite talkative. Her Chao, Cheese, was even worse. She kept a smile and then noticed Shadow in the corner and decided to avoid him. He would probably taunt her or grab her again, but she still wanted to make him feel acknowledged.

"Do you want some punch? It's grape."

"No."

She was kind of angry, but kept a straight face. She expected him not to have any, that wasn't Shadow. He just never seemed to have any joy, or emotion, for that matter. He just stood there for the rest of the night just staring forward. Well the punch was good and it his loss if he didn't want any. She decided to just go meet a few of the others. She got to meet Knuckles. He was nice, but probably the most defensive person she has ever met. Everyone decided to leave about an hour later and, to be honest it wasn't that bad.

Shadow did not have a bad time at the party. Did he have a good time? No. He had a neutral time. That was who he was, a emotionless being who did whatever he wanted to do. Everyone was having a good time and that was fine with him. He did participate. He denied the choice of grape punch. He didn't know why Blaze would even come up to him. He was actually stunned that she did. He expected her to ignore him and just go about her own things. So she was either clueless and stupid or had some serious confidence. He caught himself thinking about her and immediately snapped himself out of it. She was just an ordinary cat, nothing else. She did seem to be hiding something about her, though. She was always had this heat around her or wherever she went. Maybe there is more than what she tells people. Well, there is no need to think about it, just don't even care, don't even care.

**The Next Day…**

Shadow woke up the next morning and decided to go for a run. He would go down his usual trail, down the hill, through the city, and finally through the park. He did this pretty much everyday. His favorite part is the park. It had many trees, a bench or two, and not many people visited the park.

So he set off on his run.

Of course, this usually would only take ten minutes max. But today he felt like slowing down a bit. He had a lot to think about. Now that Eggman's empire was destroyed what would he do? He would still probably do some mercenary work, but what else could he do? Also, what was that Blaze girl hiding?

Blaze decided to explore this new home of hers. She was relatively fast and just wanted to experience this new place. The city of Station Square was huge and confusing. She decided to check out the river. The river that went out of Station Square was not a man made river, it had existed for about, well, a long time. It was really a beautiful place. It seemed so pure and just innocent. She didn't like the downtown area. It was a harsh place, the opposite of the river banks.

Then she decided to walk into the park. She then saw an all too familiar face, but she hasn't met him in person.

It was Scourge.

She was warned about him. Sonic had said that he is trouble. She turned around to walk out of the park, but it was too late.

"Hey, Ms. Kitty."

"Go away."

"No, I think I want to learn a little more about you."

She started to walk a little faster.

"Hey-" But she was already speeding off. That was not a smart move.

Scourge loved a good chase.

He was catching up. " I can't get away from him!" she thought to herself. Then she tripped.

Then, right as she was about to hit the ground, she was grabbed and sped away.

It was Shadow.

He was going full speed, but Scourge was still in the chase. "Are you all right?" he asked.

"Y-Yeah." she managed.

" Come on, Shads," Scourge was yelling. " Let me take her to a movie, and maybe a nice kiss, afterwards?"

" In you dreams!" Blaze yelled back. Now she was angry. Nobody talks about a queen like that!

She jumped out of Shadow's arms and turned and faced Scourge. She then let out her secret, her flames. Without delay, she started launching her fire at Scourge. This battle continued for about fifteen minutes. Blaze almost had no control over herself she just knew that Scourge was going to get burned!

"Blaze, let's go! Chaos Control!"

Suddenly, Blaze was back at Rouge's apartment. " What happened? I wanted to kill him!"

"Hmph." said Shadow with a smirk. Blaze was astonished, how could he be laughing at me.

" What?" she screamed at him.

" So that's why your name is Blaze. I knew there was some secret about you."

At this point Blaze's flames had died out, but she was getting hot again.

"You think this is a joke? You have never had anything stripped away from you! My flames are a burden, not a joy or talent!"

And with that she sped off.

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**Wow! I am very happy with this chapter. It had a little party, a little action, and a few secrets let out. Well please review and suggest, I am always open!**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I am probably going to update pretty regularly. I might sometimes have problems updating because of school or sports. I don't have too much more too say so let's get this chapter on the road.

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_**Shadow's mind…**_

_**Blaze had no idea what she was talking about. **_

_**She will never understand…NEVER!**_

_**Just because she was not in a familiar area, doesn't mean she has experienced the pain he has felt…**_

_**He was never in a familiar place! He always felt out a place here! **_

_**He was never normal without her… without her…**_

**Back in reality… **

Blaze regretted what she said to Shadow. For all she knew, he could have had everything stripped from him.

He was pretty mysterious.

She wiped away her tears and made sure her flames had died down, and opened the door and walked through.

"H-hi." she stuttered to Sonic.

" Hey, you were gone for a while. Are you all right?" he asked.

" Yeah." she lied. Of course, she didn't feel good.

" I'm gonna go to my room for a little while."

She needed to think.

Shadow didn't care. Whatever she said, happy or unhappy, it would just get blocked by that wall of nothingness.

Then it hit her.

She forgot to thank him.

She did give him something.

A lecture and a speech of mindless yelling.

She was sorry. She wish she had thought before she had yelled at him.

She finally drifted off into a sleep, still wondering about Shadow.

**Back to Shadow… **

He now understood Blaze's anger a bit better.

He just had to think it out, or as Rouge was about to find out, destroy a lot of Rouge's stuff.

" Hey Shadow, I was just-"

" What in the world did you do?!?" she screamed.

Shadow decided it would be best to take the heat and remain emotionless. ( Bad move.)

Shadow also decided( Rouge told him to.) to go stay with Sonic for a couple days.

He was not happy about this. But he had no choice.

_Ding-Dong._

Then much to his surprise, Blaze answered the door.

" What are you doing here?" she asked.

" I could ask the same question." he replied.

They stood their looking at each other for what felt like hours . But Shadow was always thinking, even if he didn't look like it.

He did not need this. He would just explode again. He shouldn't be here.

"Hey Blaze who was at the door?" Sonic asked. Then he turned and saw Shadow. " Hi Shadow. What's up?"

" I need to stay here for a couple days." he replied, not taking his eye of Blaze's lavender eyes.

" Sure! The couch is all yours." Sonic said.

Shadow mumbled his thanks and walked into the apartment.

He then sat his things on the couch. Walked by the two of them and right out the still opened door.

"Where ya goin'?" Sonic yelled.

"Out." he replied still facing his back towards them.

He didn't feel like chatting.

**Back To Blaze… **

She was still holding the door. He walked right in and right out.

But that was Shadow. She was coming to realize that Shadow was always like that. He never changed.

Just emotionless. Blank.

This just made that black hedgehog all the more mysterious.

" Well, that's Shadow." Sonic said to Blaze, Walking off.

She was thinking the same thing.

" _Why was he that way?" _she asked herself.

He was probably hiding something, too.

She had a feeling she was going to find out what.

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**Well, I like the chapter, but I understand why it can be a little quick. I'm probably going to slow it down a bit and a possible twist. Remember, I said possible. Thank you for reviewing and thanks for the suggestions.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**Well I'm gonna try to slow it down a whole lot this chapter. Chapter 3 was kind of a beginning to a part in Blaze's and Shadow's relationship. Thank you those who review and thank you for the support. I really appreciate it. I really do. On with the story!**

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Shadow returned to the house at about ten o'clock at night.

It had been a long day. A very long day.

He crept into the apartment, fell quietly to the couch and tried to fall asleep.

He then heard someone enter the kitchen. It was Blaze.

He didn't feel like talking with her, so he decided to fake sleep.

It worked. After she walked back to her room, he opened his eyes.

Why was Blaze always in his mind?

She hasn't thought about someone so much since…her.

Then he felt his eyes coming to a close and Shadow drifted of into a deep sleep.

* * *

Blaze awoke to the sound of Tails cooking. Tails was an awesome cook, and she couldn't wait.

"Hey Tails." said Blaze, walking in. " What are you cooking?"

" Just French toast." he replied. " You want some?"

"Yes." she answered. She was actually starving, she didn't eat at all yesterday.

She didn't even have time to eat, yesterday. She was either, running from Scourge or thinking about Shadow.

Well, yesterday isn't today, so she decided to be optimistic. What she really needed was a day with friends.

She decided to call up Rouge and Amy and see if they wanted to go hang out.

Well it turns out that Amy was at Rouge's place and they both said that would be awesome.

" Finally," she thought to herself. " A little enjoyment, no parties, no fighting."

She then walked over to Rouge's place and met up with them.

" Let's go to the mall." Amy said.

That sounded good to Blaze and Rouge, so they left for the mall.

Once, they reached the mall, Amy wanted to go with Rouge, so they decided to split up.

Blaze walked into a random store and decided to look around.

It was a alternative kind of store, with clothes that she wouldn't normally see.

It was a kind of a breath of fresh air. She saw a lot of things she liked and finally narrowed it down.

She then walked up to the counter, and started paying for her clothes.

That's when she noticed him.

He was a white hedgehog with green eyes.

"Will this be credit or-" But that was all he could get out.

Blaze and the white hedgehog stared at each other for a couple of minutes.

Blaze finally broke the silence with "Credit."

" What's your name?" she asked.

" Silver." he answered. "Yours?'

" Blaze." she said blushing.

" Nice name, do you live around here?" he asked.

" Yeah, just moved." she replied. "Against my will." she thought.

" Well, I hope I'll see you around." Silver said.

"Yeah…" she answered. Smooth, Blaze. Good job.

She walked away, still blushing.

After walking around a few more minutes, she decided to find Rouge and Amy.

She looked in store after store and found them at the food court.

" Hey guys." she said.

" Hi Blaze, you get everything you need?" Amy asked.

" Uh… Yeah." Blaze answered.

"Well, I'm bored so I say we head home." Rouge said.

So they got in Rouge's car and headed to their apartments.

Rouge decided to drop off Blaze first, so they went to Sonic's apartment.

" Bye Blaze," she said. " Quick, I can't hold off Amy much longer.

" Bye." She laughed to herself. Her friends were quite the characters.

She then opened the door, and walked through.

She was quite surprised to see Cream and Tails making a… What were they making?

" Hey Blaze!" they both yelled simultaneously.

" Uh.. Hey, what are you guys doing?" Blaze asked.

" We are making a cake for Sonic! This is his birthday! You want to help?" Tails replied.

" Sure, I guess." she replied.

" Yay!" Cream yelled. "Ms. Blaze is gonna help!"

Cheese was just as loud.

She had a lot more fun than she expected. It was an organized mess.

They were making a chocolate cake with entirely blue icing. It said "Sonic" on top.

Blaze decided to make the icing with Cream, while Tails made the batter with Cheese.

Cream really didn't help, just handed her things, and tried to learn from Blaze's example.

After the icing and the batter got done they put the cake in a circular pan and placed it in the oven.

After letting it sit for a period of time they pulled it out.

It looked great, which was a surprise to Blaze.

Blaze got the icing and topped the cake. It looked fantastic.

"Yeah!" Tails yelled, while high-fiveing Blaze.

"Chao, chao, chao, chao!" Cheese yelled.

Then the group turned around from the cake and saw the mess.

Whoa.

Blaze was the first to speak.

"We better get started…" she mumbled.

So they got to work.

After about forty-five minutes, the kitchen looked somewhat decent.

They slumped on the couch, turned on the TV, and waited for Sonic.

"Wow," Blaze thought. " This was pretty fun. Crazy, but fun."

Then she heard some one open the door.

The group got up, turned, and yelled: " Happy Birthday Sonic!"

It was Shadow.

"Oh." Blaze said. They sat back down on the couch.

" What?" he asked.

" It's Sonic's birthday." Tails answered.

"Oh." Shadow then slumped on the couch with them and watched TV.

" Ms. Blaze, where did you come here from?" Cream answered.

" Well, my kingdom was going through a rough time… I had to leave." she replied.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Cream answered.

" It's okay. I've got friends here so don't worry." she answered, trying to cheer Cream up.

Then the door opened.

Everyone(not Shadow) turned around and yelled: " Happy Birthday, Sonic!"

"Hey guys. How'd you know it was my birthday?" he said.

They had already went up and gave him the cake.

"Sweet!" he said.

Then Sonic noticed Shadow.

"You helped, too ?" he asked.

"No." he sharply answered.

" Thanks anyways, guys." Sonic told them.

Sonic and the group (not Shadow), then ate the cake, and Cream and Tails went home.

"Wow," Blaze thought to herself. " Pretty long day, I am tired."

" I didn't know you were such a child, Blaze." Shadow said sarcastically.

" I'm not, I just like to enjoy life, even if you don't." she replied sharply.

"Hmph, sometimes life isn't worth enjoying." he answered.

" Like when?"

" All the time. Anytime in anyone's life can life take a turn for the worse."

" What about the good times?"

" Good times don't last forever."

"Neither do bad times."

Blaze and Shadow sat their for a couple of minutes staring forward.

" I'm going to bed." Blaze said, breaking the silence.

She walked off and Shadow was left sitting on the couch, alone.

"Maybe Blaze was right," he thought to himself. "Maybe bad times don't last forever."

But memories do.

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**I really like the ending. I also liked how it was a showcase of all of Blaze's personalities. Her childish attitude and her wisdom really made the story. Also Silver comes into play. So he could be a factor. Thank you for reading, hope you enjoyed it. I'll try and update soon.**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

**Well, I know it's been a while but I'm finally ready to update. This chapter is kind of a experience chapter shared between Shadow and Blaze. Well, I'm not great at this so let's go!**

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Blaze was feeling pretty optimistic. Yesterday had been her best day in her new home.

She walked out of her room with a smile. Shadow was sleeping on the couch, Sonic was out on a run, and Tails was tinkering with something.

"What's up Tails?" she asked the blonde fox.

" I'm just making something for the Tornado."

" What?" she replied.

" My plane. You want to see it?" he asked.

"Sure."

Tails grabbed her hand and ran outside.

"Wait a sec- Whoa." she said reaching the flying machine.

It was amazing. It was blue with "Sonic" on the side.

"Pretty impressive, huh?" Tails boasted.

" Yeah…" . That was all Blaze could get out.

" I'm gonna go see if anyone else wants to go." he said running back inside.

This had reminded her of her kingdom, and the magical performance performed for her family.

_**Flashback…**_

" _Are you ready Blaze? This is going to be an amazing performance." her mother asked._

" _Yeah!" she replied. _

_Then the planes came. They shot across the plain going faster than she believed._

_At first, the planes scared her. But through out the day she loved the performance and admired their acrobatic moves and technique._

"_Mommy, that was amazing!"_

"_It sure was."_

_**Back in reality…**_

"Blaze are you ready?" Tails asked her.

She spun around and saw Tails and Shadow.

"You're coming Shadow?" She asked the black hedgehog.

"Against my will…" he mumbled.

"He's never flown before! Can you believe that?"

"Well I haven't…"

" What? We have to go know!" he said jumping into the plane.

Blaze and Shadow looked reluctantly at each other. Blaze shrugged and jumped in. Shadow followed.

"Here we go!" Tails yelled starting the plane.

Within seconds, Blaze could not believe her eyes. They were over Station Square!

She loved the busy atmosphere still shown in the atmosphere. It didn't seem like they were going fast.

"Tails we aren't going that fast…" she told the fox.

"It's because of our height in the air." he replied.

That explains it. Not. She was wondering what Shadow was thinking. He can imagine him now. " I am not impressed, blah blah blah…"

He needed to learn to live a little.

**Shadow**

He was not impressed. He knew there actual speed was quicker than it seemed, but still not entertaining.

He had been at great heights before, just never flown.

The ARK. If you think this is high, the ark is in space. So much for that fox boy.

He heard Blaze yelling to go faster or something.

"Yeah faster to the apartment."

Then Tails made a sharp turn. Blaze fell out of the plane!

"Tails! Blaze just fell out of the plane!"

He looked back.

"Oh my God!" the kid screamed.

With that, he made another sharp turn and dove down in the air.

"Shadow get ready!" Tails screamed at him.

" Ready for what?"

As he said that Blaze fell right in his lap. " Oh." he thought.

Blaze was still screaming when she was in Shadow's lap.

" Blaze! Shut the hell up." That did it.

Then he smirked. Blaze was transformed, not into Burning Blaze, but he decided to go with _fluffier. _She looked like a living pom-pom.

Blaze went into her scared phase and oddly enough, that makes her hair fluff.

"What?" the cat asked him. Then she looked at her body. "Oh."

After calming down, Blaze carefully climbed into the seat in front of her.

" Tails, we need to go home." Shadow told him.

" Yeah." Tails agreed.

As they landed Blaze felt much better, like she was connected with earth again.

"My bad Blaze." Tails immediately apologized.

"It's fine, in fact, it made a very interesting day."

"_Yeah." _Shadow thought. _"Interesting, but a little too scary. Even for me."_

They walked back in and saw Sonic, Rouge, Cream, and Knuckles.

" Hey! Where were you guys?" Sonic asked.

" Plane ride." Blaze simply put.

" We were worried sick Ms. Blaze." Cream told her.

" Yeah, we thought Eggman made a comeback attack." Rouge said.

" _I wish." _Shadow thought. _" Except for today, everything had been boring as Hell."_

" Well were back." she replied.

Rouge walked up to Shadow. Hopefully they were on good terms.

" Quite a day, huh?" she asked him. So far so good.

" Yeah. So-"

"No." Denied. Better get the couch ready.

" Fine."

Rouge turned on her heel and walked off.

After everyone had left Blaze and Shadow were left on the couch.

" I would just like to say-"

" It doesn't matter." he cut her off.

A moment passed.

" It was no problem. You would have done the same."

"No." Shadow was stunned.

Blaze lips started to curve into a smile.

" I'm just kidding. I definitely would. For all of you."

Shadow was surprised at himself. Blaze caught him off guard.

"Well I'm going to bed." she declared and walked off into her room.

He was, once again, left sitting alone.

" _Wow." _Shadow thought. _" She is clever."_


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6(Other known as: Blaze saves Christmas.)

**Well I'm feeling inspired so I decided to update again. I'm planning to add season (winter) into this one. Well you know how bad I am at these so let's move on.**

* * *

Shadow was surprised when he woke up. His blurry vision, thanks to his sleep, blinded him. All he could see was a red and green blur.

" Merry Christmas!" someone was yelling at him.

" What the hell?" he mumbled.

"It's almost Christmas! Help us decorate!" He realized it was Tails.

Shadow and Rouge had never celebrated before. For one, they were always working for G.U.N. or Eggman. For two, whenever Rouge went to a Christmas party he didn't go.

"_Anyways," _He said to himself. _" Back to sleep."_

Blaze wasn't sure if this Christmas thing got her excited. The whole Santa Claus thing was something she couldn't believe.

Blaze was literal. How could one man get around the world in one night? On flying reindeer? Not likely.

But she wanted to be a team player. So she got the ornaments and got the ladder.

**Since this a special, and I'm an amazing poet/writer, from here on, it is a poem.**

The apartment was stirring with cheer,

even Shadow wasn't wearing his sneer.

Tails was full of extreme joy,

Everyone was happy for the fox boy.

Sonic said " I'll get the tree!"

He ran off into the distance with glee.

Amy squealed with amazement, everyone sighed,

" That's my boyfriend!" and cried.

Rouge remembered something and with might,

Ran inside and yelled " I'll get the lights!"

She came flying back out with a cheerful face,

She was carrying a giant case.

" It's full of decorations!" she said with happiness.

They opened the box filled with glitter and bliss.

They got started right away at full speed,

They had to get it done. It was Christmas Eve!

As they worked, they had many thoughts,

Tails, for example, wanted some new robots.

Blaze was cheerful, but still had some doubt,

About how the rosy cheeked man could pull it out.

She watched Rouge fly high in the air,

Putting on Christmas lights without a care.

The next thing Rouge knew, she was tangled up in lights,

And falling to the ground with fright.

"Help!" Tails yelled with panic.

There was a blue blur that was pretty quick.

Everyone sighed with relief and knew who it was,

Rouge's life was saved, and Sonic was the cause.

So after the drama, they got back to business,

For the next day was X-MAS!

Amy wanted to help and was in deep thought,

What could end her helplessness drought?

The she pictured Santa and smiled with glee,

She yelled " We need milk and cookies!

She ran into the kitchen and started to bake,

For the cookies that she tried so hard to make.

Outside, everyone was busy,

Even Shadow decorated the Christmas tree.

He thought it was stupid, He thought it had no meaning,

What's cool about a fat man coming?

" You're doing a good job!" Blaze yelled from below.

He smirked and looked at the lights that started to glow.

The tree was magnificent, he had to say,

It reminded him of the girl, he loved in many ways.

The brightness was her smile, The evergreen leaves her hair,

It was quite a moment, all he could do is stare.

Then there was a yell from inside, a yell of melancholy,

Amy came out and she was not jolly.

Blaze ran to her side to find what was the matter.

She replied with: " The oven is broken, the cookie is still batter!"

This was a desperate issue, for Santa loved cookies,

And there would be no presents, just empty stockings.

Blaze eyes popped with excitement, she knew how to help,

" I can use my fire!" she said with a yelp.

She told Amy to get the cookies, still on the tray,

To bring them to her without delay.

Amy came back glimmering with joy,

Blaze blushed and got very coy.

She told them the plan, they all agreed,

This was a good idea, to follow Blaze's lead.

Knuckles got ready for the signal,

Blaze was about to make cookies for Kris Kringle.

With a nod of her head, Knuckles threw,

She blasted them with a fiery blast, on cue.

The cookies fell down to the tray,

They looked delicious, there was no dismay.

They all cheered saying " Christmas is saved!"

They nodded to their saver, her name was Blaze.

Shadow gave her a smirk,

He seemed impress with her work.

She had to admit if she could perform a miracle,

She did, though, and she now believes in Kris Kringle,

She swore she heard a voice,

She had made her choice.

The saying she heard in the distance felt right,

"A Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!"

* * *

**Happy Holidays!**

**From your favorite writer,**

**FreedomFighter007**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

**All right, now we get back to actual writing. Trust me I enjoyed the poem, but this is pretty much a **_**story **_**kind of place. So I suck at summaries, so lets start the story.**

* * *

Blaze laid in her bed thinking.

"_Will I ever go back to my homeland?" _she wondered. _"Will I get to see my parents, my friends?"_

She told herself to keep faith. Of course she would! Her parents were the greatest king and queen to ever come through the royalty line.

She knew they would protect the country of her people. The only thing that she didn't get is why did she keep the Sol Emeralds?

They were the most powerful objects in her land. They could fix almost any problem.

Well, she had planned to have a shopping spree with her gift cards( she only got gift cards, nobody knew what she really liked.)

After getting ready for the spree, she walked out the door with a smile.

"What's your plan for the day Blaze? Want to go flying?" Tails joked.

"No thanks. I'm planning to use my gift cards for some stuff." she replied.

"Cool. I couldn't fly anyways, I got to invent something for Knuckles's gloves, they rip to easily."

She walked over to the kitchen and saw Amy. Only, Amy was as sick as a dog and looked like, well, hell.

"Are you sick?" Blaze asked the obvious question.

" Yeah, I-uh-, ACHOOOO!" she sneezed.

"You can tell me later-"

"ACHOOOO! Uh, sure-AAAA" she started again, but by the time she sneezed, Blaze was out the front door.

Blaze didn't like to brag or criticize, but she was a clean freak. Whether it was sneezing, vomit, whatever, she had to get away from it.

Her one weakness, even more than germs, is blood.

Blood is something she _can't _stand.

Seriously. Blood has made her fall unconscious several times.

Blaze got into Sonic's car(he said she could) and started to drive to the mall.

Upon arriving she was filled with the business that she liked so much.

The smells, the lights, the sounds, were almost overwhelming.

She decided to go to the alternative store _**Plan 19**_. That's where she first got clothes in Station Square.

She found a really cool purple hoodie, and some ripped jeans. After gathering her clothes she walked up to the cashier stand.

Nobody was there so she leaned against the counter and waited. Then it hit her.

This is where she met Silver.

" Hello. Can I help you?" a voice asked.

She spun around and saw Silver.

" Hey you. Back again?" he asked.

"Yeah, using s-some Christmas money." she stammered. _Why am I so nervous?_

" Well you got good taste, the jeans look pretty cool."

"Thanks." she replied.

"Well, here is your bag." he said handing it to her.

She smiled and walked off. He was so _normal_. Not in the boring way, just he was so relaxed. Like he didn't have a care in the world.

She then thought of Amy. How she was sick and probably having a horrible day. She thought about how she could make her feel better.

Well she knew she liked gifts( who doesn't). She also liked pink. Can't get any simpler than that.

Well she walked over to Amy's favorite store, she had mentioned it several times, and looked for her gift.

After turning the corner of the clothes section she bumped into Rouge.

"What are you doing here?" Rouge asked.

" Getting a gift for Amy. You?" she replied.

"What you said." she replied.

"Well I bet we can get a better gift if we work together." she told Rouge.

So they got to work and found a cool gift basket. They put some aspirin, a blanket, and a pair of earrings.

They were proud of their work.

"It really can't be more Amy." Rouge said.

"Nope." she said approvingly.

After they got the basket, they walked over to the local coffee shop.

" So how is life here Blaze?" Rouge asked.

"Well Christmas was really cool, everyone's nice, but I really miss my parents." she replied.

"I wish I could miss mine, but I grew up alone. Then I met my true love." Rouge said.

Blaze was expecting Knuckles. Rouge always seemed to tease him and flirt, but that is who she is.

" My gems!" Rouge exclaimed. " I saw my first jewel when I was just a little girl. I've been in love ever since."

"What about a living thing?" Blaze asked.

"Oh, I don't know. People aren't always as good as gems."

"How?" she asked puzzled.

" Unlike people, gems are good listeners, you can always have them with you, and finally _gems never die._" she said.

Blaze didn't think that less than an hour later she would be crying over that statement.

After finishing their coffee, they each got into their cars and started to drive back to see Amy.

**Sonic's Apartment**

"We're back!" Rouge exclaimed. "And we got a gifty for Amy."

The pink hedgehog squealed with delight even though sick. It seemed to perk her up.

" Glad you like it." Blaze told Amy.

As she said that Sonic came in with a glum face, which is really unusual.

Shadow walked in after him with his emotionless face, which is really common.

"B-Blaze we-… Shadow can y-" he was cut off.

"Yes." he replied quickly.

Blaze had never seen Sonic so nervous, what could be wrong?

The next thing she knew she was being dragged out back by Shadow.

"Stop!" But it was no use.

"Blaze, sit." he commanded.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"Blaze, things are not going well in your homeland." he told her.

" How? Is their war? Crime?" she asked.

" Blaze your- your parents are dead."

Shadow looked into her eyes and saw pure horror. It was familiar to him.

* * *

**One word: WHOA! Talk about a cliff hangar! Well, not to be cruel, but Blaze was having such a good time and I think we needed tragedy, without a main character death.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

**Well, it's time to resolve the cliff hanger! This chapter is all Shadow and Blaze! Hopefully it will be interesting through out the chapter. Enjoy!**

* * *

Blaze ran. She didn't care where she was going, it was a blur anyways. The town looked like a watercolor painting that had been drenched in the sea.

Her tears were making her seem like she just got out of a shower, or that's what it felt like to her.

She could hear Shadow's voice calling after her. But he was the one person she did not want to deal with.

She felt him catch up to her but she cut a corner into an alley and he couldn't stop his skate speed. She knew she had lost him.

She also knew she was out of breath. She had to give up. Shadow's real ability wasn't even his speed or technique, which was already amazing. It was his stamina.

His ability to keep going surpassed Sonic's. She had no chance.

"_But I had to do something,"_ she thought. "_There was too much emotion, I could've burned the house down."_

She found a bench, and sat down with her head in her hands. The irony was that this she has been in this same situation. At the same bench.

She couldn't stop crying. How do your parents die? She wasn't there to help, comfort, fight. She wasn't there for her country.

Thoughts raced through her mind. _Who will lead the country? How did they die? Did someone kill my parents? If so, how can I __**KILL**__ them?_

She thought about all the good times she had with her parents. The ceremonies, the shows. _The air show._ She sobbed even more.

After about 5 minutes, she looked up. She was not surprised when she saw Shadow sitting next to her.

Shadow didn't know what to say to the cat. He just looked ahead.

He did know what she was going through. The horror in her eyes, her desperation, he too, has shown.

"Bl-Blaze.." But he stopped there. She looked at him with such anguish that he stopped.

"Why Shadow? What happened?" she asked the black hedgehog.

" I uh-" he was cut off.

" I want to know everything. I feel like I'm alone and lost." she demanded.

He nodded.

" Well you're here because you had to be," he explained. " You're are being protected to keep the royal blood line."

"I also know you are aware of the threat of Eggman-Nega," he told her. "Well your family and government underestimated him. He had actually put a bomb in five major cities. The casualties were in the hundreds."

The horror was even greater now. He nodded his head solemnly.

" Your parents found a tip of this and had you evacuated immediately. You were brought here." he kept going. " Then you ran from Sonic and you attacked me at this spot."

"I know." He didn't know if she was laughing in the inside or humiliated.

" Well, the aftermath set back your country in almost everyway." he continued. " They had no idea what Eggman-Nega had planned."

" He was not like our Eggman, who was obsessed with destroying the world. He wanted to control the world."

" He did succeed." She put her head down.

" The Royal Guard did not stand a chance. The mansion was infiltrated and your parents were…"

He knew he shouldn't say any more. She looked at him with sorrow, anger, but somewhat relief.

"Shadow… I'm not sure if you've ever experienced something like this, but it's very hard."

"I do understand." he replied with full honesty.

"I'm sorry for you too." she said solemnly.

There was a moment of silence.

"Blaze…Do you want to know my story? I don't know, but it might help." he said.

Still having tears in her eyes, she nodded.

"Fifty years ago, I was not born, I was made as a scientific experiment. I was to be, and still am, the Ultimate Lifeform."

" I was created for good, to save the world in case anything of uncontrollable evil ever appeared. I now realize that." Shadow explained. " I had two friends. My creator, Dr. Gerald Robotnik and Maria."

"Maria was my best friend. She was like a sibling to me." he trembled. " She had a disease, in which the atmosphere of the earth, was like a poison. That was why she lived on the ARK."

She looked puzzled.

"The Space Colony ARK was a monumental structure where the Doctor could study for me, and for a cure to Maria." he explained. " He did not succeed."

" Both projects were harmless, but the government had no control over it, which makes them think it is against them." Shadow felt anger. " So they attacked the ARK."

" The Doctor was captured, and the orders were to kill everyone else. Including me and Maria." he continued. " When the soldiers exhaled the same atmospheric air came out and this weakened Maria so we could not escape."

" When we reached the escape pod, she ran to the controls and I was put into the escape pod. She then spoke to me." he started shaking. " She said 'Go to earth and give them hope.'"

"Then a gunshot."

" Shadow, I'm-" she said.

"It's fine. That is the reason why I seem so sad, but I'm not. My life focus is to make the world a better place." he said. " That is why I help G.U.N. , the organization who's soldiers killed Maria. I have received a full apology."

"I have fought for good and evil," he continued. " Some things I'm not proud of."

"I understand. I guess we're more alike than I thought. I too, have a life focus now."

She said. " It is to make the world a better place with or without of the death of Eggman-Nega."

He nodded.

"Shadow I really have to thank you. Your story does help ease the pain. It's still there but I know that I have something fighting it."

" You're better off than me. Hell, I had no since of direction, mentally or psychologically." he said.

" I still have one question." she said. " Do we ever go back? To my own country." she asked.

" Well it depends. Are you willing to fight Eggman-Nega?"

"Yes."

" Are you willing to risk your life?"

"Yes."

"Are you willing to take responsibly if you win the battle?"

"Yes."

He nodded.

" I will be willing to do anything to do what I think is right. I definitely have something to fight for. My parents deserve to have their daughter being the new leader of the country. _I_ want to make sure there is a good leader. I will kill Eggman-Nega to make sure things are right."

Shadow was impressed.

" I will fight with you, and so will our friends. I'm sure of it."

Blaze smiled.

Shadow smirked right back.

So they walked home thinking about the hope they need to give to the world.

They were going to give it.

* * *

**I really like this chapter. I wasn't really sure if I wanted to add a war or a fight, but there are pretty much the Freedom Fighters. I wouldn't say Blaze and Shadow really like each other yet, but it will happen before the fight against Eggman-Nega. I hope to update again soon.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

**Here's the next chapter. This is a 'falling action' chapter, I mean last chapter was pretty straightforward and a bit foreshadowing. This chapter is going to be a little bit different. It is the day after the explanation of Blaze's parents, so everyone knows.**

* * *

Blaze could barely get up yesterday was such a blur. A sad one at that.

But Blaze knew her parents would be disappointed at her if she just cried and didn't do anything productive. She knew they would be counting on her.

And with her new found friends, there was no way she could lose…easily. It was going to be a rough battle.

"_But that's not for a long time," _she thought. _" I still have some time to enjoy here."_

And with that she got up and planned for another day.

Shadow was not surprised when he saw Blaze come out with a smile. A hopeful one. In fact, his hopeful talk, gave him hope, too.

He wondered what was he going to do today. He could run. Target practice at G.U.N. Take a nap. So many possibilities.

"Hey, Shadow!" Amy greeted him.

"Hi." he replied. The pink boom box has made her arrival.

"Why are you just sitting there?" she asked.

Ugh. " Thinking." he replied shortly.

"About what?" Amy wasn't getting the mental daggers.

" My day, hopefully a peaceful wal-" but Amy finished it for him.

"We should all go for a walk!" she squeaked. " Wouldn't that be fun Sonic?"

The blue hedgehog looked up from his orange juice. " Hm? Oh yeah, a walk would be great.

"_There goes my day of walking." _he thought.

"Wait. Why don't all of us go?" she asked.

Blaze nodded and looked over at Shadow and gave him a fake angry face and smiled.

While Amy babbled about inviting Rouge and Knuckles, he decided to at least get something so he wouldn't freeze. But freezing might be better than the walk.

" Oh, come on Shadow!" Sonic asked. " Can't you chill out for a day?"

" Yeah, if I didn't have a bunch of annoying voices-"

"Look, I didn't ask about your mental disorder." he said with a smirk.

" Everyone else has the disorder." He muttered under his breath.

Blaze walked in after Sonic. That was better than most of them.

" So how are you doing?" he asked the lilac cat.

" Fine, I didn't tell the others." she replied.

" Good, we don't need more commotion from the pink trombone." he told her.

She smirked. " She isn't always bad."

"Yeah, when she's asleep. Also, don't encourage her by agreeing." said the ebony hedgehog.

" Whatever, you really need to follow Sonic's advice. Chill out sometimes." she said leaving the room.

"_Yeah, but a minute later he said I had mental disorder." _he thought. "_ Once again, the others have the disorder."_

Well, he knew whether he liked it or not, he was going on a walk with the others. Man, this is gonna suck.

After meeting up with Rouge and Knuckles they started down the trail. Him and Blaze remained fairly quiet, while the others mingled and joked.

Shadow wasn't really into the jokes or people. It was the wonderful scenery and outdoors. He wasn't ever crazy about it, but he admired it.

" This kind of looks like my country. I can't imagine what it looks like now." she spoke to him.

"Yes, the areas are probably similar in their natural way. If it is different there now, it's one more thing to strive for." he replied.

" I agree." she smiled at him. So the pair kept walking in silence.

Blaze was impressed with Shadow's attitude. He hasn't really ever shown his hopeful or optimistic side. It was probably one of the rare things you get from him.

After a while, Sonic saw a chili-dog stand. Everyone sighed and agreed on chili-dogs. At least they were warm.

" You aren't gonna eat your chili-dog, Blaze?" Sonic asked.

" Well, I'm a vegetarian and this is pretty disgusting…" she replied. Sonic was giving her his best puppy dog eyes. " Fine."

She tossed it to the azure hedgehog, and decided to eat a granola bar instead.

" I didn't know you were a vegetarian, Blaze." Amy told her.

" Yeah, I just always thought it was a cool lifestyle and I stuck to it." she replied happily.

" I dondt howv youv dodnt livke chili dogs." Sonic told her, his mouth stuff to the rim with chili dog.

" That, just gave me another reason." she said jokingly. Everyone laughed.

Shadow was surprised. Blaze had seem so shy to speak before, but know she was the life of the party. Even he thought the chili dog joke was funny.

So after everyone finished their food, they kept walking.

Rouge flew over to Shadow and walked by him.

" So, Blaze is doing pretty good now. Yeah, she's over the family death. She seems to have some good friends now."

" Yeah, it's good to see her happy. Well, I gotta go see my Knuckie." With that she flew off to the other side and the torture began.

" _Hmph. Rouge sure seems to have a thing for Knucklehead. The funny part is she is the dominant spouse."_ he thought.

Sonic then made a joke about Knuckles and the chase had began. Of course, Sonic was way faster, but if Knuckles caught him, he would be dead meat.

Everyone laughed and kept walking. This was one of the few days that Shadow felt content. This wasn't a horrible walk after all. Not fantastic, but even like zen.

" Shadow! I have a question…" Tails asked him. As he listened, he was thinking of zen.

Blaze was happy she could trust everyone now. It was something she knew she would have to grow into, and she was glad it was over with.

Now she had good friends with greater personalities. She really felt happy.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

**Chapter 10! I am pretty psyched about it. Well in the last chapter, I tried to make it somewhat happy and I really like it so I am probably going to do the same again. Who knows? With that, let us begin!**

* * *

Blaze sat on the couch the next morning thinking about… well, everything. She really did have a lot going on.

" Blaze, can you heat this for me?" Tails asked.

Blaze sighed, lately Tails has been using her pyrokinetic powers to his advantage. At least it was things doing with science, not what Sonic and Knuckles had in mind.

Blowing up farts is not pretty.

Well, the fox boy could pull a mean puppy face, so she gave in.

Five minutes and four hundred degrees Fahrenheit later, she was back on the coach.

It was surprising that Shadow wasn't sleeping on the couch. He must have been let back into Rouge's place. She missed the cynicism.

"GOOD MORNING!" Sonic boomed. Blaze probably just lost most of her hearing.

"What's with the noise?" she asked the blue hedgehog.

"I'll tell you…" he continued.

Shadow woke up in his bed for the first time, in about two weeks. He was content. Sonic's couch was not bad, but nothing compared to his jet-black room.

Isolation was not always that bad.

"Shadow come here," Rouge yelled. "Did you forget your part of the deal?"

Ugh. He did indeed forget the deal. The deal was if Rouge would let him back in the house, Shadow would have to do house cleaning and cooking. Time for eggs.

After working over a hot stove, and denying Rouge's request to wear an apron, he finally got ready for the day.

He nearly forgot. He had better get ready for the day he has been waiting for.

**Back to Blaze…**

"Well, today is one of the most important days for those who excel in awesomeness, it's what I majored in high school." Sonic told her.

Highly unlikely was Blaze's first thought.

"Well, on this day, the Freedom Fighters have their big reunion," the azure hedgehog told Blaze. He then smirked. " Including a tournament."

"Yeah!" Tails popped his head out of his workshop. " There are four different competitions!"

" A race, a Gear race…" he started.

" A fighting tourney…" Tails continued.

" And a Pageant!" Amy yelled appearing from her room.

Well Blaze wasn't going to be in the-

"Blaze you should be in the pageant!" Amy told her.

"No." she replied sharply.

"C'mon Blaze."

"Do it Blaze."

" It'll be fun Blaze!"

"Fine." She was convinced to easily.

**To Shadow…**

Well, Shadow was in two comps, two that he expected to win. Easily.

The racing he knew he would face the two years before. Sonic. Sonic beat him the first time, while Shadow beat him the second.

The area of racing this year, was not to his preference.

The Green Hill Zone is somewhere he had never been, but what was complicated about a loop?

The year before was at Radical Highway, the year before Seaside Hill.

Now, the fighting competition he knew who he would face. None other than Knuckles the Echidna.

Now Knuckles was a force to be reckoned with, but he was an imbecile. A being of a probable IQ of 80.

Overall, the competition would be a piece of cake.

**At the Reunion…**

Blaze arrived their feeling like she always did. Alone and not knowing anybody.

Luckily or tragically, Rouge grabbed her arm and dragged her around the Green Hill Zone meeting everyone, people like the Chaotix, and the originals.

" Bunnie!" Rouge shouted to a rabbit across the area.

When coming closer to the animal, Blaze realized what she was. She noticed the robotic legs.

" How ya doin' Rouge?" the bunny exclaimed while embracing her.

"Great. Have you met Blaze?"

**To Shadow…**

Well, here he was. Personally he just wanted to get on with the competition. Get in. Win. Get out.

It was a _nice_ experience to see everyone again. He really had faced all of these people and fought along side all of them, too. Great memories.

"_**MARIA."**_ Memories were triggered by many things.

He thought of how great it would be if she was here. She made him more than content, happy.

She would have found her cure, and he would spend her time with him forever.

"Shadow, come on." He pictured the girl saying. " Come on, the games are starting!"

Shadow checked back into reality. It was time to do what he did best.

Win.

* * *

**Well, this is the 1st**** chapter of the two part Reunion chapter. I thought I'd do this, not as filler, but a cool intermission until the "big raid" as I call it.**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

**Well after about what seems like forever, here it is the second part of the reunion chapter. I really have to thank those who have kept coming back to see if I updated (I looked at the traffic.) Now here is what everyone has been waiting for. **

Blaze felt horrible. She was not one to dress up in very nice clothing.

Even, at royal events, she looked much more casual than most. Her parents always wished she would dress a little nicer.

Her parents. She walked over to the mirror. She looked like she belonged at a ball. This is how her parents would have wanted to dress on those occasions.

"_If they could look at me know," _she thought. _"I know they would be proud. Maybe they are."_

"Blaze!" Rouge yelled across the room. "You look amazing. Are you ready?"

She thought for a second. "Yeah, I think I am."

She strode confidently to the door for the opening scene. She was as nervous as hell, but she was not going to back out. Her parents always said she never backed away from challenges.

**Shadow…**

Well, this is new. He had not ever faced a bird before. Especially, one of this size.

Storm the Albatross was somewhat intimidating. Straight away, you could tell he was not smart. Shadow had a skill for finding weaknesses in his opponents.

Storm first move was to charge at Shadow. That was a bad move.

Shadow dodged with ease, came up behind Storm with a kick to the head. One, two, three.

Next opponent, please.

He decided to see the rest of the opponents. Not that it mattered, but he wanted to end this quickly.

Knuckles, of course, crushed his opponent Vector.

A surprising victory by Big. Shadow had always thought that he didn't even enough of a brain to even fight.

Finally, there was Rotor. Another surprising victory. And Shadow's next opponent.

**Blaze…**

Well, the opening scene went well, now only: talent, formal, and the closing ceremony.

For the talent, she was going to use her fire for something she was not good at: art.

A little trick she learned in her own land, she was going to light her tail on fire. Crazy, but she had no other talent, that she knew of.

She went into her Burning form and her tail instantly lit up.

She was ready. In front of her was a canvas. A canvas made of steel. Very gently, she was going to cut through it with fire and precision.

She started by heating the metal in a very delicate motion, making her not have to keep on one spot too long.

After completing this, she poked a small hole. This was the icing for the painting.

After making a dark landscape with some actual paint, she put a bench in with fire.

After only a good 10 minutes, it was done. Not only was the a special kind of painting, it was special to her.

It was a picture of her. She was sitting on a bench, with a single sidewalk light on.

She is crying, alone. This was about five minutes before she met her last and favorite friend. Shadow the Hedgehog.

The icing was the light. The bulb was on fire. She had used a special order that would not burn any more steel, yet keep the flame. It really made the painting shine.

She turned the canvas so the judges, which were Sonic, Vanilla, and Charmy, could get a better look.

Sonic was the one she focused on, because he has been there too.

Charmy and Vanilla both looked in awe with the rest of the crowd, astounded by not only the painting, but her skill.

All Blaze could do was smile with pride.

**Shadow…**

Rotor was no challenge. Shadow finished it quicker than he did with Storm.

In fact, he walked up to him and threw him. He was not surprised it ended that quickly.

This was 45 minutes ago. Now he was watching Knuckles walk into arena, once again determined to win. Too bad skill wins over determination.

The bell rang and neither of them moved. They were in a deadlock of the eyes.

" So, Shadow, easy competition?" Knuckles asked with a cocky grin.

" Yes, every single match. Even this one." Shadow answered slyly.

" Well, enough chit-chat. Let's fight." he replied.

Shadow was the first to move. He sped towards Knuckles and tried to hit him with a spin kick, but Knuckles blocked with his glove.

Knuckles then retaliated with a punch to Shadow's chest. Shadow back skidded backwards.

" _Maybe, this would be harder than I expected," _Shadow thought.

He decided he would try a different strategy. He ran. Not the most courageous move, but whatever it takes to win.

Knuckles chased after him, yelling at him to stop running. He ran faster.

Once he had been at full power, he stopped. Knuckles went flying past him, trying to stop.

Shadow went after him, and upon reaching him, delivered a kick to the back of the head.

Knuckles popped back up right as Shadow was going to deliver a second blow. They were caught in another deadlock. Until, a chaos control.

Shadow warped behind Knuckles and delivered a series of powerful kicks and punches. Knuckles was down quickly.

Shadow didn't even grab his trophy. He was walking to the sprint competition.

**Blaze…**

The formal competition went horribly, she had stumbled twice. Her smile was awkward.

Right when she was confident, she failed. I guess all she could do now is to go out and enjoy the closing ceremony.

She walked out standing with the other 11 contestants, she tried to seem happy.

She was surprised in herself that that she was disappointed. What was she thinking she could beat any of the other contestants.

"Our winner is…" Sonic announced. " Amy the Hedgehog!"

Blaze was happy for her, if anyone deserved it, it was Amy. She developed all her attributes over the last weeks for this competition.

"We are not done yet!" Sonic continued. " For the talent portion trophy, the winner is….Blaze the Cat!"

What? She walked over to Sonic and hold the object in her hands with pride. The warmth inside her was inbearable, so she could not stop smiling.

Rouge had won the formal award. She was the most composed, sleek, and coordinated of anyone on the stage.

Blaze walked backstage, still in disbelief of herself. She had never won anything, on her own.

Even if it was a second place trophy, she was more than happy, but overjoyed. This had been her happiest day since she was taken from her parents.

Then, she realized, that she was never taken from them. They had been here all that time.

**Shadow…**

Shadow was coming up to the loop. Him and Sonic were neck-to-neck. Each of them straining for the championship.

At first, Shadow thought Sonic wouldn't show up, but he eventually got done with the pageant.

" Were still equal, eh, Shadow?" Sonic asked, still alongside him.

Shadow blasted ahead of Sonic, leaving everyone behind.

" Nope." he whispered to himself, he was going to win. Just like always.

Right as he was going to be on the final stretch, Sonic appeared from the sky and was alongside him again.

The two hedgehogs sprint for the finish line, both panting and tired.

Shadow and Sonic tore through the ribbon.

Everyone was speechless. Nobody knew who had won or not.

Shadow looked over at Sonic, who was grinning like an idiot.

Finally, the judge, Tails came out and said the final results.

" It's a tie!" he yelled. Everyone clapped for the two hedgehogs.

Shadow couldn't believe this. It wasn't supposed to end in a tie.

Shadow didn't want his tie trophy. Tying is like only shooting someone in a non-fatal area.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

**Alright. I wish I could update more regularly (don't we all?). Enough about me, you guys are much better than I am. Just by looking at the traffic, I know how loyal you guys are. I cannot give enough thanks. Well, you guys have waited long enough. Here is the 12th**** chapter!**

"Are we there yet?" Amy screeched from the backseat.

Blaze smirked as she looked over at Shadow, and the imaginary steam coming out of his head.

"Sure." Sonic replied wearily. After all, he had been driving for about 6 hours.

Amy grunted in annoyance at her self-proclaimed boyfriend.

"Uhh, Sonic? Maybe I should drive for a little while." Tails said cautiously.

"Sure." Sonic replied groggily.

"_Thank goodness. Sonic drives fast. He is also tired. If you can do easy math, you can realize fast and groggy motor skills don't work well." _Blaze thought.

So after a brief stop at the closest gas station, they were back on track.

"Green Hill is way too far from Station Square." Amy mumbled.

Shadow mumbled something and tried to go back to sleep.

"Anyone awake?" Tails asked to seemingly emptiness.

"Yeah." Blaze replied.

"Good. I don't like being the only one awake." he said with embarrassment.

"Me either. So you can pilot pretty much everything?" she asked.

"Yeah-_**CRACK! CRACK!CRACK"**_

"Sonic!" Amy yelled, obviously waking from a dream.

"What the hell?" Shadow yelled.

"What was that?" Blaze questioned trying to remain calm. ( It was hard. As she was saying this, she noticed that they were losing speed.)

"The engine." Tails answered, eyes still on the road in front of them.

"Great." Shadow mumbled.

"What now?" Sonic asked.

"_Good question." _Blaze thought.

"I say we get out." Tails suggested.

"Good idea." Sonic agreed.

**Shadow… **

"_The cold sucks. The car sucks. This place sucks. My life sucks." _he thought with a slightly more grim expression than usual.

"Alright guys, we need to find a ride or pathway to civilization." Tails stated.

"Well let's see. I'm the fastest hedgehog in the world I can get anywhere in like a minute. What should we do?" Sonic asked with more sarcasm than needed.

"That's not advisable Sonic. We do not know the area, the creatures, or how far out we are from civilization." Tails replied. "But I do know that if we follow the road than we will reach a city."

"Fine." Sonic sadly replied.

"I don't want to go right away. Can we at least stay in the car for the night?" Amy asked.

"I suppose I could rig the battery for a little while. At least for the night." Tails answered.

"YAY! Sonic sleeps next to me!" Amy screamed.

"Are you sure he can't run?" Shadow asked.

"Sorry Sonic." Tails said pitifully.

The group got into the car while Tails worked on the battery.

"Sonic is crazy not to run." Shadow mentioned to Blaze.

"Yeah, I'm glad we don't have to sit with them." she replied.

"I bet Sonic gets through an hour, but then he will fall out." Shadow said with a smirk.

"I bet 30 minutes." Blaze replied. "Whoever loses, they have to take Sonic's place for a little while."

"Your on." Shadow answered.

**50 Grueling Minutes Later…**

"Come on Sonic. Stand it a little bit longer." Shadow encouraged quietly.

"Sonic give me a hug!" Amy screamed.

"SOMEONE TRADE SEATS WITH ME!" Sonic bellowed.

"Yes!" Blaze exclaimed.

"Damn." Shadow mumbled.

"I want you to say it." Blaze demanded.

"Uhhhhhhh…. S-Sonic I want to trade seats with y-you." Shadow said.

"Thank you!" Sonic praised.

Shadow climbed over the seat for his punishment.

"Have fun." Blaze said slyly.

"_God help me."_ Shadow thought.

"Hey Shadow!" Amy greeted.

"Hi." he replied.

"_Zone out. Zone out. Zone out."_ he thought.

"I don't see why you don't like Sonic. He's the best!" Amy explained.

"He's not the best, I am." Shadow replied sharply.

"Good one Shadow." Amy laughed. "Your great, but your not Sonic."

"_Zone out. Zone out. Zone out." _he kept repeating.

"Sonic's only saved the world like a billion times." Amy exclaimed.

"He didn't finish off a giant lizard and a space colony from crashing to the earth and then fell to the earth and almost died. I did." Shadow pointed out.

"He helped." Amy said matter-of-factly.

"He also did not defeat an entire alien race. HE DID NOT HAVE TO KILL HIS OWN BIOLOGICAL FATHER AND SAVE THE EARTH TWICE, STILL MENTALLY CONFUSED ON WHAT WAS RIGHT AND WRONG!" he bellowed.

Everyone was looking at him now. Even Tails outside was staring.

"Sorry." he mumbled.

He and Amy did not talk during the rest of the night in the car.

"She's right though," Sonic said peeking over the chair. "I am better."

" _Zone out. Zone out. Zone out. Damn, this is hard."_


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

**What's up? Sorry if it has been a while since I've updated. Once again, just by looking at the traffic, I appreciate everyone checking. Just a warning, the fun chapters are going to end soon. Be ready for that. By the way, 3000 hits! You guys are amazing.**

"It's fixed!" Tails exclaimed. With that great exclamation, Shadow had a reason to stop pretending to sleep.

"Finally." Sonic said. "I still think I could have gotten us out of here quicker."

"Blaze," Shadow started saying as he turned around to face her in the very back seat of the car. "Can I switch back now?"

"Sure." Blaze snickered. "That was a lot of fun to watch you know."

"I'm sure it was. I paid my dues so who's switching back with me?" Shadow said.

"I'll switch," Tails replied. "You drive. You're probably the only other person I trust with the Tornado."

"Thanks." Shadow mumbled. _"Anything to get away from the pinkette nightmare."_

Shadow grabbed the wheel and found his comfort zone. Which is usually driving, shooting, stabbing, or blowing up something.

**5 Grueling Hours Later… **

Blaze lifted her head to the window, perking up because she saw the horizon of Station Square. The city had kind of felt like home. Hopefully, it wouldn't have to be.

"Were here!" Amy screeched. It's official.

" Finally. I've missed Station Square. Would've been here sooner, but…" Sonic trailed off with a grin.

" Whatever, Sonic." Tails joked back.

Blaze watched everyone joke and lighten up as they reached the city limits. Shadow was still focused on the road. She bet he was content, too. Just content.

"What is the plan for when we get home?" Blaze asked.

"I'm gonna take a nap," Sonic said happily.

"I'm going to inspect the Tornado a little bit more and fix the bugs," Tails replied.

"I'm gonna take a nap with Sonic," Amy said sly fully while looking at Sonic.

"Actually, I'm not that tired," Sonic said quickly.

"What are you going to do Shadow?" Tails asked the ebony hedgehog.

"I don't know. Maybe take a nap, or go for a run," he replied with out looking back.

"I'll join you on the run," Sonic said hopefully.

Shadow just stared straight ahead and then gave a simple shake of his head.

"Please." Sonic said.

"No." he replied dully.

"Are you sure you don't want to take a nap, Sonic?" Amy asked with a mischievous grin.

"I'm good." he replied trying to convince her.

"What if you don't have a choice?" she questioned, scooting closer to the blue hedgehog.

"Uh…" Sonic stuttered. Then, Sonic being Sonic, he opened the door and jumped out of the car. He ran alongside the car, grinned at Amy and the rest of them, and sprinted ahead.

"He knows how to escape a dangerous situation, I'll give him that." Shadow stated with a smirk.

Amy was not happy.

About five minutes later, they reached the house, and to the surprise of no one, Sonic wasn't there. Blaze looked at the couch she had been sleeping on the past couple of weeks and fell into its loving pillows.

**Shadow… **

Shadow did decide to do his run. He liked the scenic route right outside the city, a little ten mile run through a couple of layers of woods.

He passed threw the woods, his chaos powers allowing him to hear and see better than usual. He was at peace.

Sadly, his run was ruined by the sight of the blue hedgehog running right at him, grinning like an idiot.

"Hey Shadow," Sonic said. "I didn't know you ran this route."

Shadow turned around and started off but Sonic said something that intrigued him.

"How about a rematch?" Sonic asked nonchalantly. "You know, to decide who is the best?"

"Yes." Shadow said and got into a starting position. "To the end of the trail."

"Alright, Ready?" Sonic started.

"Set." Shadow said staring down the track.

Shadow did not hear go, just an explosion. He didn't see the track anymore just air. While he was falling back to earth, he saw Sonic in the same position he was. He also had seen something else. It was Eggman-Nega.

**Blaze… **

Blaze was fixing a bowl of cereal, after taking a nap. Amy and Tails were watching TV, and she was about to join them. They had the remote and were trying to find something interesting to watch.

She guessed they would end up watching some reality or mystery show, since Amy really liked them, and Tails wasn't one to argue about a TV channel.

"That looks good, but I also like that show," Amy said, deciding over channels while also looking at Blaze for suggestion.

Blaze shrugged and Amy sighed at her sadly.

"What do you want to watch, Tails?" Blaze asked.

"I don't really care what we watch, pretty much anything sounds fine to me." Tails said as usual.

"I'm just gonna pick one," Amy finally decided.

They started watching the reality show, but it was cut off quickly by a newsflash.

"This just in, it appears that Dr. Eggman has returned and is reeking havoc on the outskirts of Station Square, and has attacked the hedgehog heroes Sonic and Shadow. Here is the only picture we have from this current catastrophe." he finished as they prepared to show the image.

Blaze dropped her bowl. She really could not believe her eyes. It was the person she planned to attack. The person she had planned to invade and take revenge on. That person was Eggman-Nega, and she felt like she was a little girl again.

Defenseless, vulnerable, fragile, weak, and most of all: helpless.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

**Hey guys, I know I have been taking a while again, but that's life. Funny. Well, after the great cliffhanger that was Chapter 13, here is the follow up. So, let continue with the story.**

The sound of the bowl shattering was the only noise Blaze heard.

The TV was no longer making any sound. Tails and Amy were opening their mouths but no sound was coming out. The bowl was the lone sound in her mind.

Eventually, after what felt like a hundred years, Blaze regained her hearing.

"Blaze!" Tails yelled. "We have to go now!"

She nodded her head still staring at the screen.

"Blaze?" Tails questioned.

"I'm fine, Tails." she answered, lying through her teeth. "Let me gather my thoughts."

**Shadow…**

"Any ideas, Sonic?" Shadow asked.

"Well, spin dash never fails." grinning at Shadow. Shadow could tell, he missed fighting.

The creature they were facing, definitely would put up a fight. Shadow could not exactly describe it, but he could exactly depict its weapons: 1000-Volt 20 Foot Tentacles, three Turrets that shot .50 Caliber bullets, and finally claws. Big claws.

Not too shabby.

So after the weapon analysis, he and Sonic went for the attack. They hit the claws and bounced off. More like a defense than an offensive part of the massive machine.

"Nice try Sonic, but you will not be able to defeat me with those puny moves." Nega taunted.

"Any ideas, Shadow?" Sonic asked.

"Well, Chaos never fails." Shadow replied slyly, somewhat sarcastically.

"CHAOS CONTROL!" Shadow screamed.

Then as Shadow went to move through time, the situation around him was shattered. He saw the Chaos drop around him.

"_What is happening?" _he questioned.

"Shadow, if you are wondering what is going on, let me please explain. Thanks to some of my research on the Chaos Emeralds, it turns out there are resources in my world that are not located in yours. Guess what they do?" Nega said with a gleeful smile.

Shadow did not even respond to him. Obviously, the "resources", whatever they were, canceled out the Chaos energy. Hopefully, this would be the only machine of his with that power.

Not good.

**Blaze…**

Blaze had gathered her thoughts, or the remainder of her thoughts.

Her name was Blaze. Nega is the cause of every bad thing that has happened to her. She needed to stop him. Here was her chance.

"Let's go." she said to Amy and Tails, climbing onto the Tornado.

Soon, they were flying over Station Square. Blaze was standing on the side of the plane, the ruffling of her jacket from the wind. She stared ahead, seemingly emotionless. Kind of like Shadow.

Speaking of, she noticed the upcoming commotion. Down below, she noticed a black and blue dots jumping around a colossal structure.

"So Blaze, what's the plan?" Tails asked.

She jumped out of the plane. This time she meant to be falling out of the sky.

Blaze nosedived through the air, going faster than she had ever felt in her entire life, barely able to keep her eyes open to attack the menace below. Surprisingly, to her advantage, her narrowed vision let her only see her target: the cockpit that Nega was controlling the robot.

5. "_Prepare."_

4. _"Position."_

3. _"Target."_

2. "_Flames."_

1. _"ATTACK!"_

She felt her foot connect and all the momentum and the power of her flames flowing through her body as one. She also felt the machine go crushing into the ground, hearing bolts snap, and hear the crackle of flames melting the material of the structure.

She jumped back and landed swiftly on the ground beside Sonic and Shadow.

"Nice." Sonic praised her, panting.

"Excellent." Shadow said with a grin.

Blaze did not look back at them still focused on the sight above, even all she saw was dust.

Nega's figure did appear. He walked out of the dust into the open, and began dusting himself off.

"Well done." Nega said. "I have learned from you Blaze. You aren't like your pitiful parents. I have one thing to say."

"What?" she growled.

"Self Destruct." it said, in a strange and polite manner.

"What?" But, luckily she was already in Shadow's arm, once again being carried to safety. As she looked back, the explosion went off, sending fire and shrapnel everywhere.

"Pretty impressive." Shadow said.

"Me or the trap?" she asked, with a slight grin.

"Both." he chuckled.

They raced home, running through the streets on the way back to Sonic's place.

He placed her down and said, "You are going to have to start running by yourself."

"Yeah. It's not bad being carried, though. I am royalty." she said with fake pampered ness.

"Get over yourself." Shadow said.

Shadow was surprised, he started to enjoy this cat's company. That was new.

By that time, everyone else had arrived. Tails smiling with the enthusiasm of a 9-year-old, which he was.

"We did it! I also got some samples of the broken machine, broken by Blaze." he paused while, she got a slight cheer. "And I think I found what canceled out your Chaos energy."

"Thanks." Shadow replied. He needed to get in on that. For now, however, he needed a long nap. His jog lasted a lot longer and A LOT more painful then he expected.

Even an Ultimate Lifeform needs rest.

**So there we are! I wanted a happy ending, at least for this chapter. I really enjoyed writing about Shadow's Chaos situation and Blaze planning an attack. Well I will try to update again soon. Read and Review, Thanks for the Support, and see you in Chapter 15!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

**Well here we are in Chapter 15. Another milestone to say the least, but there is also another reason giant milestone. About one year ago, on November 22, 2009, published the first chapter of A Shade of Lavender. So think of this chapter of returning back to the beginning. Thanks for over 4,000 hits, reviews, and just amazing support.**

Shadow woke up on the couch he had come to enjoy, or at least be content with, at about 5 o'clock in the morning.

Now considering that they had came back from the battle with Nega at 4 o'clock in the afternoon yesterday, a thirteen hour nap is impressive. Shadow was left with a problem after his long nap:

It was early in the morning, he was rested and no one else was up. He almost wanted the pink nuisance to wake up. Almost.

Then, a light came on from one of the dark rooms next to the living room. He may have spoken too soon. He turned to see who it was.

Out came the princess of the foreign world, Blaze the Cat. He was relieved and happy beyond normal comprehension. He even spoke first.

"Good Morning." he said getting off the couch to go brew a cup of coffee.

"Morning to you, too. Why are you up so early?" she asked with a strange look.

"I could ask the same of you. I have to wake up sometime, right? I'm brewing coffee, do you want a cup?" he asked her, putting the beans in.

"Sure. I heard commotion and plus I'm a light sleeper so even someone getting up can awake me." she replied while walking over to the counter to take a seat and watch Shadow.

"I understand. I'm obviously pretty alert myself. Cream and Sugar?" he answered.

"Yeah. Why do you like coffee this much?" she questioned, with a sly grin.

"It's good. Simple as that." he replied giving her a cup and grabbing his in one fluid motion.

"It's good?" she asked. That wasn't a Shadow answer.

"It's not bad tasting, it gives me energy, and its black like me, especially since I drink it black." he explained, while looking at her.

"Hm. That's funny. When I picture the Ultimate Lifeform eating and drinking, I don't picture him sipping a cup of coffee with a mug that says '1 Hedgehog'." she replied laughing.

Shadow grabbed his mug and noticed he grabbed Sonic's by mistake. He face palmed himself. "Damn…" he muttered.

"It's fine, I'm just glad I found a weakness in an immortal person: Coffee." she joked as she kept grinning.

Shadow smiled too as he took a seat next to him. She was one of the few who can still make him smile. He then thought of her performance yesterday.

"Blaze, yesterday… Well, I was a little jealous. You rose to the occasion and impressed me deeply." he congratulated her, keeping the smile.

Blaze gave a small blush. "Thank you, Shadow. You did great as well. I don't think I could have done it without you and the rest of the crew." she answered, also smiling, looking down at her coffee.

Shadow paused for a moment, and took another long sip of coffee. "Me and Sonic didn't even scratch the surface, you're the one with the idea of the Tornado and the flame kick."

"I actually had no idea what I was doing. I just tried to throw a plan together, I don't deserve as much credit as your giving me. My number one concern is what Nega meant by 'I have learned from you Blaze'. That's scary." she stated.

"I agree. It is scary. But you know what? I have a lot of faith in you." he told her.

"Really? I mean, I believe in myself, I just don't know if I…" she trailed off.

"Blaze. You are incredible. You are the most amazing person I've met in 50 years, and I've met many. You are a leader. You are nice and caring. You astonish me everyday. You are beautiful inside and out." he finished, staring at her right in the eye.

"Sh-Shadow…" she stuttered, crying with emotional overwhelming and joy.

The two stared at each other, realizing what their feelings have been for each other all along. Inch by inch, and a couple of seconds that felt like an eternity, the cat and the hedgehog moved toward each other and finally connected.

To say the least, the kiss was the best thing either person had ever felt. They stayed in the embrace for a while longer and enjoyed the moment, that even if they didn't realize it, they had been waiting forever.

The two had been hearing a pop or two during the moment, but shrugged off as a great feeling that went with embrace.

When they finally pulled away they realized that they were no longer in the apartment, but outside on a street. As they looked at their surroundings they realized where they were: the street they had met on, with the bench right behind them.

"Shadow, what happened?" Blaze asked dreamily.

"I believe that the intense emotion of our kiss overloaded me to Chaos Control to a spot that reminds me of you. This street being the area that reminds me of you." he explained, holding her in a hug.

"Well should we head back to the place?" she asked.

Shadow did not reply. He pointed at the sunrise. It was beautiful, lighting up the skyscrapers slowly, but with such greatness that Shadow wanted to suck it in as soon as he could.

Blaze was also silent, stunned by the god-like sight. She took a step back, and took a seat on the bench taking Shadow with her.

As they sat in silence, a raging river of emotions going through both of their heads, not believing that in the past hour or so, so much could come out of them both.

Blaze, leaned her head on Shadow, still staring at the skyscrapers being brought to life by the great light known as the sun.

Shadow thought to himself not in his normal words, but rather in celestial way. All he knew that if this moment was the last of life, he wouldn't mind dying.

Blaze could say the same thing. She forgot about everything that could be bothering her. Nothing was on her mind, but two things: Shadow and this great moment.

Somewhere in her mind, she thought she saw her parents smiling in approval.

Shadow was sitting next to Blaze. That's all he could comprehend at the moment, nothing more. There was a great sight, a great person next to him, and a great life he had.

The sorrow and angst of his past was cleansed from his body. He did not become a new person, but he just felt like a better person.

This new, better Shadow considered what he was now. Was he still the ultimate being? Does he still have some of his old traits, the good ones?

He then decided that this was not the time, this was the greatest moment in his life and he needs to spend it enjoying it, not wondering.

So he returned to the sun, loving its greatness. Then, something unexpected happen.

He saw a face in the sun. One that he had been so accustomed to, for more than 50 years to be exact.

It was Maria. His sister, friend, and caretaker. She smiled at him and Blaze. She was happy that Shadow was happy. He lips also curved up and formed a smile. He heard her voice in his head.

"_Shadow. Keep fulfilling my promise, but live your life now. Blaze is the perfect person for you, and treat her well. Shadow, I will always be with you, but Blaze is your new other half. I love you Shadow the Hedgehog."_

Shadow shed a single tear of happiness. It fell on his hand, and he closed his fist.

"_Thank you, Maria."_


End file.
